Chapter 50
Chapter Fifty
AUDREY
A hand lands on my shoulder and I about jump out of my skin.
I swear the top of my head almost hits the ceiling of my kitchen.
I rip my headphone out and spin around, ready to beat some ass.
I meet green eyes that are full of excitement.
“You scared the shit out of me!” He was supposed to be working out while I finish cleaning up my house for the new tenant.
Noah scoops me up, arms just under my butt cheeks so we’re face to face. “We’re staying.” My eyes go wide. “The Hurricanes are tagging me!”
“Wait, what? Oh my God!” I scream. “That’s amazing!
” I wrap my wrists around his neck, careful with my dirty latex gloves, and pull his face to mine.
Our kiss has an undercurrent of relief without me acknowledging that.
I pull back. “How? Tell me everything. Tell me what tagging means.” Noah looks slowly around at how little I have left to clean, and it suddenly clicks.
“Hold up. I have nowhere to live.” I look at him, lost.
This little house that I have so many memories in isn’t mine anymore. “I got here as soon as I could. Hopefully before you hand your keys over.”
“It doesn’t matter; I already signed the papers for the sublet.” I pause, considering. “Wait. When did you know you were staying?”
“Literally fifteen minutes ago. I got the call from Arie.”
“But when did you tell Arie you wanted to stay?”
His voice is quiet. “In Chicago…”
It’s longer than I would have liked him to go without telling me something as big as this, but it was after I already signed my house away anyway. Home is where your person is, and I was willing to follow mine to Chicago.
“It shouldn’t take me long to find an apartment…” I start, making plans in my head. Writing and rewriting my to-do list.
“Move in with me.”
I push back from our embrace. “What?”
“Permanently,” Noah clarifies. “Move in with me.”
“It’s okay. I chose to put my house up. I’ll find a new place.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“This is awful fast, isn’t it?”
He gives me a quizzical look. “And leaving Houston with me wasn’t?
Where were you going to live in Chicago?
” I purse my lips. He’s got a point there.
“I want you to stay. I love having you in my house. I love the way the bathroom smells like your body wash after you shower. I love the way your feet feel in my lap when you’re trying to get me to rub them.
I love the way your hand feels in mine when you hold it to fall asleep.
I’m going to love hearing the happy squeaks of the girls every morning when they get breakfast.” His gaze sears mine, overflowing with emotion. “I love you, Audrey, all of you.”
I think I’d be lying if I said that I was shocked to hear it.
You don’t invite your girlfriend to move to another state with you if you’re just infatuated with her, but I didn’t think the universe would throw us this bone.
To be here, in Houston, where we both grew up, with our families—however dysfunctional they may be. Together.
“I love you too.” I pull him back to me. The physical need to express my love is taking over my mind. A slow, emotional kiss, slowly burns, needing.
Noah reaches behind me and swipes a big hand across the kitchen island, knocking the glove box and paper towels aside.
He grabs me by the hips and lifts me on to the counter.
I peel off my cleaning gloves with a quick snap.
Noah kisses me, guiding me back to lie flat.
I flinch against the cold of the granite.
We look into each other’s eyes as we make love on the counter.
This feels like the final solidification of us.
Cementing our admissions of love with the combination of our bodies.
While it feels like goodbye to this house.
It feels more like hello to our future.